Golden State Warriors: Week 15 Recap
It was a heavy week in the National Basketball Association, as the league mourned the death of the five-time champion basketball icon Kobe Bryant along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others in the result of a horrific helicopter crash.
Teams around the league started games by taking 24-second shot clock violations and eight-second backcourt violations-- while players throughout the league changed their numbers out of respect for the late legend.
The Golden State Warriors started their week in the city where Byrant made the national scene as a high schooler 26 years ago-- Philadelphia. The 76ers presented Bryant’s Lower Marion High School jersey before the game in a tribute for the fallen Hoops icon. With both teams wearing heavy hearts on their sleeves, both teams took the floor minutes later.
The Warriors were held scoreless through the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter as part of an extended 76ers run that ultimately was too much for the Warriors to overcome in their 115-104 loss Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
The Dubs were led by strong play from D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green through the first half. Russell had 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting from distance, while Green was on triple-double alert early with five points, eight rebounds, eight assists.
Despite the competitive play from the Dubs, the 76ers were able to hold the Warriors off with a strong fourth quarter.
From Philly, the Warriors took their five-game road trip to the TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics. Prior to the game, the Celtics honored Bryant with a heartfelt tribute video.
D’Angelo Russell led the Warriors with 22 points. Alec Burks scored 18 points.
The Warriors led in the opening minutes of the first quarter but closed out the final 5:48 of the period on the wrong side of an 18-7 run that gave Boston the lead. From there, Boston took and kept control of the game. Boston led by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter.
Thankfully, the Warriors found their groove in Cleveland Saturday.
In a 12-minute stretch, Golden State outscored Cleveland 44-19, building a two-point halftime lead up to a 27-point advantage in the third quarter. During the frame, Golden State made a franchise record setting 10 3-pointers in a quarter (Yup, without Steph and Klay in the lineup), shooting 71.4 percent from beyond the arc. Glenn Robinson scored 10 of his game-high 22 points, while D'Angelo Russell hit three treys of his own. Along the way, the Warriors put together a 28-4 run.
The catalyst was Draymond Green, who finished with eight assists in the quarter, finishing the stretch plus-28 from the floor. While similar runs aren't expected going forward for this year's iteration of the Warriors, it provided a welcome reprieve for a team in short supply of wins.
Along with Green, the return of Kevon Looney also attributed to the Dubs successes.
Looney entered the game late in the first quarter and immediately made an impact, helping Golden State produce a 15-4 run over his first four minutes of action. By the end of his initial stint, Golden State went from down two points to up four midway through the second quarter.
The performance was expected. Despite missing 10 games to injury, he's still the team's best frontcourt defender not named Draymond Green. The key to his season will be staying healthy.
With the trade deadline looming, the next week of Warriors basketball will be interesting. It’s widely believed the Warriors will trade Alec Burks and/or Glenn Robinson III before Thursday. So we may see some new faces on the team by weeks end.
The Dubs will finish their road trip, prior to Thursday’s deadline, with trips to Washington and Brooklyn on Monday and Wednesday.
The Dubs then come home to host AD and Lakers on Saturday.
You can catch the Warriors take on Bradley Beal and the Wizards Monday night at 4 PST on NBC Bay Area.